Most coaches, and probably most officials, believe many of the NHSF rules are stupid. A watch is not jewelry but a string around your wrist is, for example.
Nevertheless, the officials are not jerks for enforcing the rules. In fact, that's their job. Indeed, I would suggest that any official who refuses to enforce a rule he/she thinks is stupid should not be allowed to officiate. The linesman in a football game cannot arbitrarily decide that he's not going to call offsides. And whether they like the rules or not, coaches are failing to do part of their jobs if kids either don't know the uniform and jewelry rules or if they are allowed to violate them.
The whole concept takes about 30 seconds to explain:
1) "Uniform" is both a noun and an adjective.
2) No jewelry except for medical or religious, which must be taped to the body. Best bet, don't wear anything.
3) On our team, any undergarment with the potential to show must be _________ (choose a color appropriate for your team).
4) Shirt must reach waistband and shorts cannot be rolled.
To me, a huge frustration is having a coaches' meeting in which we are told that the rules will be enforced ("Why are you telling us this?" I always want to ask. "Why would anyone think they wouldn't be?") and then they are not. Barring a revision of the NFHS rulebook, the best thing we could do for kids is enforce rules consistently from the first dual meet through to post-season, and the worst is turn it into a guessing game or a game of chicken (like the girl who went to the line with her shorts in compliance, then rolled them down during the race).
In a broad philosophical view, the purpose of rules and of laws is to allow us to moderate our behavior within a predictable and consistent social framework of expectations.